Opportune  3(nt)e0tment0 
in  Cf)ma 


WOMEN’S  EDITION 


THE  WOMAN’S  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 
OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

CHINA  MISSIONARY  CENTENNIAL 
Room  61 1— 150  FIFTH  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK 


Printed  April,  1907 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS 
IN  CHINA 


Missionary  effort  in  China  is  organized — as  is  successful  mis- 
sionary work  in  all  lands — in  the  departments  of  medical,  evan- 
gelistic, literary,  and  educational  work.  It  is  carried  on  with  the 
purpose  of  giving  every  person  in  the  Chinese  empire  a knowl- 
edge of  the  gospel  as  speedily  as  possible,  of  leading  men  and 
women  to  a personal  union  with  Christ,  of  building  them  up  in 
Christian  character,  and  of  creating  as  rapidly  as  possible  a self- 
supporting  native  church. 

The  medical  work  is  perhaps  the  best  means  for  securing  an 
entrance  to  a field ; the  publication  of  the  Bible  and  tracts  in  the 
vernacular  makes  plain  the  way  of  salvation ; and  the  educational 
and  evangelistic  work,  besides  winning  converts  and  enriching 
the  lives  of  the  Chinese  Christians,  trains  many  converts  for 
carrying  forward  the  Christianization  of  the  empire. 

The  work  is  established  at  centers,  or  stations,  where  the  mis- 
sionaries live ; and  from  these  bases  the  work  is  carried  out  over 
as  large  an  area  as  possible  with  the  aid  of  native  workers  located 
at  substations.  Thus  from  a single  center  an  amazing  number 
of  people  are  reached  among  such  dense  populations  as  those  of 
China,  India,  Japan,  and  Korea. 

At  these  centers,  or  base-stations,  after  building  a residence 
for  the  missionaries,  there  is  often  started  a hospital  for  men  or 
for  women.  These  hospitals,  with  their  dispensaries  and  in- 
patients, and  with  their  country  medical-evangelistic  work,  disarm 
prejudice,  open  doors,  and  win  many  for  Christ.  The  medical 
missionaries  follow  the  example  of  the  Master,  who  went  about 
doing  good,  and  stand  for  the  best  Western  civilization  and 
practical  Christianity.  Schools  for  boys  and  for  girls  are  also 
speedily  established,  sometimes  in  advance  of  the  hospitals. 
These  include  colleges,  biblical  schools,  and  high  schools  at  the 
mission  centers,  with  a system  of  day  schools  throughout  the 
region  surrounding  this  missionary  base,  and  boarding  schools 
of  intermediate  and  high  school  grade  under  native  teachers  at 
some  of  the  substations.  The  boarding  schools  so  far  as  possible 


4 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


fill  the  place  of  both  the  Christian  home  and  the  public  school  as 
they  are  found  in  America,  giving  thorough  training  in  the  best 
things  of  life.  They  develop  strong  and  intelligent  native  Chris- 
tians, they  are  the  source  of  the  supply  of  efficient  native  workers, 
and  altogether  they  are  the  right  hand  of  power  for  the  evangel- 
istic work. 

The  term  “evangelistic”  does  not  clearly  reflect  the  distinct 
work  of  the  men  who  are  here  called  evangelists.  They  indeed 
preach  the  gospel,  but  they  are  more  like  presiding  elders  than 
like  the  evangelists  in  the  United  States.  But  even  the  term  “pre- 
siding elder”  is  too  narrow.  The  missionary  evangelist  travels 
a wide  district  out  from  and  beyond  his  station.  He  takes  native 
Christians  with  him  and  soon  establishes  them  in  the  work  of  the 
church,  examines  inquirers  and  candidates  for  baptism,  decides 
upon  the  location  of  churches  and  the  policies  which  are  to  be 
followed,  preaches  at  the  various  stations,  oversees  the  work  of 
the  native  pastors — in  short,  is  in  general  charge  of  the  native 
churches,  encouraging,  advising,  inspiring,  administering,  and 
carrying  the  work  of  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  among  as 
many  people  as  possible.  There  is  a presiding  elder’s  district  in 
India  which  includes  6,000,000  people,  and  there  are  districts  in 
China  each  having  within  its  bounds  from  1,000,000  to  as  many 
as  20,000,000  people. 

The  literary  work  includes  among  many  other  activities  the 
translation,  publication,  and  distribution  of  Bibles  and  portions 
of  the  Bible.  The  translation  of  the  Bible  is  made  by  representa- 
tives selected  from  all  the  missions  at  work  in  each  foreign 
country,  these  missionaries  being  supported  by  their  respective 
missions  while  rendering  this  special  service.  The  printing  of 
the  Bible  in  all  the  various  languages  of  the  earth  is  done  by  the 
American  Bible  Society,  and  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 
ciety, which  thus  render  an  inestimable  service  in  the  task  of 
evangelizing  the  world.  Other  literary  work,  including  the  trans- 
lation of  hymns,  of  tracts,  of  standard  volumes,  like  Bunyan’s 
Pilgrim’s  Progress,  and  the  creation  of  original  literature,  includ- 
ing Christian  periodicals,  etc.,  is  carried  on  by  the  various  mis- 
sions, usually  in  connection  with  some  central  publishing  house. 

Through  these  four  avenues  of  approach,  the  438,000,000 


WOMEN'S  EDITION 


5 


people  of  China  are  being  reached  and  are  being  told  of  the 
Saviour,  and  a native  church  which  shall  endure  through  all  time 
is  being  raised  up. 

But  the  millions  of  women  counted  in  this  vast  number  cannot 
be  reached  without  the  aid  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary 
Society.  Chinese  customs  debar  a woman  from  public  places 
where  the  gospel  is  preached,  and  exclude  from  her  home  the 
man  evangelist  and  teacher.  Only  a woman’s  hand  can  give  to  a 
Chinese  woman  the  Bread  of  Life.  Only  a woman’s  touch  can 
transform  her  home.  Only  a woman’s  medical  skill  can  comfort, 
heal,  and  save  her  in  illness  and  peril  of  death.  In  our  West 
China  Conference  where  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety’s work  was  interrupted  for  some  time  by  unsettled  condi- 
tions in  the  country,  and  where  it  is  not  yet  up  to  the  work  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  ninety  per  cent  of  our  church 
members  are  men.  There  have  been  too  few  women  sent  to 
teach  the  wives  and  daughters.  Even  could  we  raise  money 
enough  to  furnish  missionaries  for  the  full  work  of  evangeliza- 
tion, it  would  be  unwise  to  reach  the  people  in  that  way  because 
the  native  church  would  be  left  powerless.  The  system  of  train- 
ing native  workers  lies  at  the  basis  of  building  up  a self-support- 
ing, self-propagating  native  church;  and  the  Christian  home, 
which  only  a woman  can  make,  lies  at  the  basis  of  a Christian 
nation.  Native  physicians,  evangelists,  teachers,  Bible  women, 
must  be  trained  in  our  girls’  schools,  hospitals,  and  Bible  training 
schools.  Our  medical  missionaries  treat  thousands  of  cases 
every  year.  The  women  who  come  to  the  hospitals  and  dispen- 
saries never  leave  without  having  heard  of  the  Great  Physician, 
the  Healer  of  the  soul.  Christian  teachers  in  our  schools  mold 
into  strong  womanhood  many  who  become  centers  of  light  in 
Christian  Chinese  homes,  or  teachers,  physicians,  evangelists. 
The  influence  of  woman  in  this  newly  awakened  nation  is  a 
serious  thought  for  the  Christian  woman  of  America.  We  have 
work  in  each  of  the  five  Conferences  of  our  church.  Every  mis- 
sionary is  overtaxed  to  the  breaking  point.  Three  hospitals  are 
now  closed  because  of  the  lack  of  reenforcement.  The  breaking 
down,  or  necessary  absence  of  a physician  in  most  cases  means 
the  closing  of  the  work,  and  this  means  the  loss  of  a native 


6 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


constituency  that  has  been  gathered  through  years  of  arduous 
labor,  as  for  instance  in  one  of  these  hospitals  now  closed  (which 
fairly  represents  all),  last  year  there  were  185  in-patients,  5,936 
dispensary,  236  out-patients  in  the  city,  1,353  in  the  country.  No 
medical  or  school  work  should  be  dependent  upon  one  woman. 
The  pressure  is  too  great ; the  contingency  of  absence  too  perilous. 

In  all  these  phases  of  work,  there  is  at  the  present  time  in 
China  the  greatest  opportunity  that  the  church  has  known  in  all 
its  history.  This  is  due  to  the  awakening  of  the  empire,  the 
eagerness  of  the  Chinese  for  Western  civilization,  and,  as  re- 
sults, a willingness  to  hear  and  an  eagerness  to  know  the  gospel. 

The  missionaries  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
have  a Missionaries’  Home  at  each  of  the  principal  stations.  It 
is  not  necessary,  therefore,  to  build  a new  house  for  each  woman 
missionary  sent  to  China.  It  is  well,  also,  to  note  that  the  amount 
given  below  as  the  cost  of  sending  a new  missionary  to  China 
includes  outfit  and  salary  for  one  year. 

We  have  work  in  eight  of  the  twenty-two  provinces  of  China. 
These  eight  provinces  contain  206,000,000  of  the  438,000,000 
people  in  the  empire.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  we  are 
by  no  means  covering  even  these  provinces  in  which  we  have 
work.  In  Shantung  we  have  only  a single  presiding  elder’s  dis- 
trict; in  Szechuen  our  territory  covers  but  one  seventh  of  the 
whole  province;  in  Hupeh  we  have  native  work  but  not  a single 
missionary.  So  we  are  not  attempting  to  reach  all  the  people 
even  in  the  provinces  in  which  our  Conferences  are  located. 
Methodism  has  five  Conferences,  or  missions,  in  China — North 
China,  Central  China,  West  China,  Foochow,  and  Hinghua. 

In  compiling  the  list  given  under  the  several  Conferences  below, 
great  care  has  been  given  to  finding  out  those  most  urgent.  It 
therefore  represents  only  those  needs  which  are  calling  for  im- 
mediate relief.  In  this  great  Centennial  of  Missions  in  China 
may  the  ever-loyal  women  of  our  own  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  rise  up  in  their  faith  and  give  unto  God  their  lives,  their 
prayers,  and  their  money,  for  the  leading  of  China  to  the  foot 
of  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  following  will  give  some  idea  of  the  extent,  the  conditions, 
and  the  needs  of  these  Conferences: 


WOMEN’S  EDITION 


7 


NORTH  CHINA  CONFERENCE 

Location:  Chihli  and  Shantung  Provinces,  Northern  China.  Latitude  of 
Ohio. 

Size:  124,000  square  miles;  as  large  as  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois. 

Population:  59,917,000. 

Principal  Stations:  Peking,  Tientsin,  Changli,  Taianfu. 

Methodist  Missionaries:  51,  or  one  for  1,175,000  Chinese. 

Members  and  Probationers:  5,251. 

Conditions:  Methodist  work  began  here  in  1869.  The  work  of  the 
Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  opened  in  1871,  by  Miss 
Mary  Q.  Porter  (Mrs.  Frank  D.  Gamewell)  and  Miss  Maria  Brown 
(Mrs.  George  R.  Davis).  This  is  the  school  where  the  require- 
ments for  entrance  necessitated  unbound  feet.  The  work  is  now 
carried  on  in  four  stations.  There  are  16  missionaries  of  the  Society, 
six  of  whom  are  physicians.  Six  are  on  home  leave  and  four 
return  home  this  year;  two  on  home  leave  expect  to  return  to 
China  soon.  Three  boarding  schools  with  240  pupils,  all  but  five 
from  Christian  homes;  14  day  schools  with  an  enrollment  of  179, 
two  thirds  of  whom  are  from  Christian  homes ; four  training 
schools  with  enrollment  of  80;  12  Bible  wom.en  visiting  127  villages; 
four  hospitals,  and  five  dispensaries  filling  16,000  prescriptions 
annually,  give  some  idea  of  the  present  conditions  of  the 
work.  The  headquarters  of  the  work  are  located  in  the  official 
center  of  the  empire,  and  consequently  are  especially  well  adapted 
to  influence  the  life  of  the  empire.  The  church  members  passed 
through  the  fire  of  the  Boxer  persecution  and  were  not  found  want- 
ing. Methodism’s  only  martyrs  in  1900  were  in  this  Conference. 
But  the  loss  sustained  by  martyrdom  has  already  been  more  than 
made  up  by  new  additions,  and  the  faithfulness  of  the  native 
Christians  in  the  face  of  the  bitter  persecution  has  made  a profound 
impression  upon  the  non-Christian  Chinese.  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  has  again  proved  to  be  the  seed  of  the  church. 

Special  Needs:  Expansion  of  the  work  of  the  Shantung  District  to  form 
a Shantung  Mission.  This  would  extend  our  work  southward  and 
connect  our  North  China  Conference  with  our  Central  China  Mis- 
sion. The  Shantung  Province  now  has  38,000,000  people.  It  has 
rich  coal  and  iron  resources,  and  promises  large  manufacturing  and 
mining  development.  The  chief  need  is  workers — workers  for 
oversight  of  the  district,  workers  for  the  schools,  workers  for  the 
hospitals,  workers  native  and  foreign. 

Missionaries 

For  Evangelistic  Work:  Seven  missionaries — one  for  Tientsin,  two 
for  Changli,  two  for  Peking,  and  two  for  Taianfu  (Shan- 
tung Province) — at  $1,100 $ 7,700 


8 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


For  Educational  Work:  Seven  missionaries — one  each  for  kinder- 
garten work  and  girls’  school,  Taianfu;  one  each  for  kinder- 
garten work  and  girls’  school,  Peking;  one  for  Changli,  and 
two  for  Tientsin,  one  of  whom  is  to  have  charge  of  the  girls’ 


high  school — at  $i,ioo $ 7,700 

For  Medical  Work:  Four  medical  missionaries — one  for  Changli, 
one  for  Peking,  one  for  Taianfu,  and  one  for  Tientsin — at 

$1,100  $ 4,400 

Three  native  nurses  for  Peking,  at  $50 150 

Buildings 

For  Educational  Work: 

Payment  of  debt  on  girls’  school  at  Peking $ 5,500 

Building  for  girls’  high  school  at  Tientsin 5, 000 

Building  for  girls’  school  at  Changli 5,000 

Building  for  girls’  school  at  Taianfu 10,000 

Building  for  four  day  schools  at  Peking,  at  $400 1,600 

Building  for  country  day  school  at  Tientsin 400 

Building  for  country  day  school  at  Taianfu 400 


For  more  definite  information  write  to  your  branch  secretary  of  the 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  or  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender, 

Room  611,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city. 

CENTRAL  CHINA  MISSION 

Location:  Provinces  of  Kiangsu,  Anhwei,  Kiangsi,  and  Hupeh,  in  the 
Yangtze  River  Valley,  Central  China.  Latitude  of  New  Orleans. 

Size:  234,300  square  miles;  almost  as  large  as  all  New  England,  New 
York,  and  New  Jersey. 

Population:  99,462,000,  or  more  than  that  of  the  United  States. 

Principal  Stations:  Nanking,  Wuhu,  Kiukiang,  Chinkiang,  Nanchang. 

Methodist  Missionaries : 54,  or  one  for  each  1,842,000  Chinese. 

Members  and  Probationers:  2,087. 

Conditions:  Wonderful  for  situation.  Here  is  the  finest  of  farming  land, 
the  valley  of  the  Yangtze,  the  most  densely  populated  of  the  valleys 
of  the  earth;  and  on  the  line  of  commerce  of  the  entire  central  part 
of  the  empire.  Among  its  cities  are  Nanking,  the  old  capital  of  the 
empire,  and  Nanchang,  the  last  of  seven  cities  in  China,  each  of  a 
million  or  more  inhabitants,  to  be  occupied  by  missionaries.  There 
are  more  people  within  the  bounds  of  the  mission  than  are  in  the 
whole  United  States.  This  region  has  received  enlightenment 
through  the  march  of  trade  in  the  Yangtze  Valley,  and  is  now  ready 
for  the  gospel.  The  work  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  in  this  mission  was  begun  by  Miss  Gertrude  Howe  and  Dr. 
Lucy  Hoag,  in  1874.  Now  there  are  four  boarding  schools  with  an 
enrolment  of  at  least  three  hundred,  one  half  of  whom  are  from 


WOMEN’S  EDITION 


9 


Christian  homes  and  pay  more  than  $i,ooo  toward  their  support; 
eight  day  schools  with  175  pupils;  two  training  schools  where 
women  receive  instruction;  14  Bible  women  who  teach  in  18  vil- 
lages; two  hospitals  and  three  dispensaries  which  reach  28,000 
women.  Although  this  shows  a remarkable  growth  and  develop- 
ment it  is  but  the  beginning  compared  with  what  remains  to  be 
done. 

Special  Needs:  This  is  a great  field  wholly  undermanned.  Evangelists 
are  greatly  needed  for  manning  the  large  districts.  Indeed,  the  field 
should  be  divided  into  two  Conferences  and  the  number  of  workers 
doubled. 


Missionaries 

For  Evangelistic  Work:  Sixteen  missionaries — one  each  for 
Chinkiang,  Kiukiang,  Kungling,  Nanking,  Wuhu,  Yang- 
chow,  two  for  Nanchang,  two  for  Kiangsi  Province,  one  for 
country  work  at  Nanking,  and  one  city  evangelist  each  for 
Chinkiang,  Kiukiang,  Nanchang,  Nanking,  and  Wuhu — at 


$1,100  $17,600 

For  Educational  Work:  Seven  missionaries — one  for  Chinkiang, 
and  two  each  for  Kiukiang,  Nanchang,  and  Nanking — at 

$1,100  $ 7,700 

For  Medical  Work:  Three  medical  missionaries — one  physician  each 
for  Kiukiang  and  Nanchang,  and  a trained  nurse  for  Chin- 
kiang— at  $1,100 $ 3,300 

Two  native  nurses  at  Chinkiang,  at  $50 100 

Two  native  hospital  assistants— one  at  Kiukiang  and  one 
at  Nanchang — at  $75 150 


Buildings  and  Land 

For  Educational  Work: 

Repairs  to  Missionaries’  Home  at  Nanking $ 500 

“Anna  Stone  Memorial,’’  home  for  doctor,  at  Kiukiang 3,000 

Woman’s  training  school  building,  “Ellin  J.  Knowles 

Memorial”  3, 000 

Orphanage  at  Kiukiang 2,000 

Land  for  girls’  school  at  Kiukiang 1,500 

Addition  to  Woman’s  Bible  Training  School  at  Nanking 1,500 

Two  day  school  buildings  at  Wuhu,  at  $400 800 

Two  day  school  buildings  at  Chinkiang,  at  $400 800 

Four  day  school  buildings  at  Nanking,  at  $400 1,600 

Four  day  school  buildings  at  Nanchang,  at  $400 1,600 

Four  day  school  buildings  at  Kiukiang,  at  $400 1,600 

For  Medical  Work: 

Enlargement  of  “Letitia  Mason  Quine  Memorial  Hospital” 
at  Chinkiang  $ 5,000 


10 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


Enlargement  of  “Elizabeth  Skelton  Danforth  Memorial  Hos- 


pital” at  Kiukiang $ 3,ooo 

Cripples’  Cottage  in  the  hills  of  Kiukiang i,ooo 

New  hospital  and  dispensary  at  Nanchang 10,000 


For  more  definite  information  write  to  your  branch  secretary  of  the 

Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  or  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender, 

Room  61 1,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city. 

WEST  CHINA  MISSION 

Location:  Szechuen  Province,  West  China.  Eighteen  hundred  miles,  or 
forty  days’  journey  from  Shanghai. 

Size:  218,480  square  miles;  about  as  large  as  the  states  of  California  and 
Washington. 

Population:  68,725,000. 

Principal  Stations:  Chungking,  Chentu,  Suiling,  Tsicheo. 

Methodist  Missionaries:  30,  or  one  for  every  2,290,830  Chinese. 

Members  and  Probationers:  2,648. 

Conditions : Woman’s  work  in  the  youngest  of  our  missions  in  China — 
begun  in  1882 — was  discontinued  in  1885  because  of  a riot,  and 
reopened  in  1894.  It  occupies  the  Chentu  Plain — the  garden  spot 
of  China,  and  in  some  measure,  of  the  world.  Little’s  Far  East  says 
that  the  Chentu  Plain  sustains  a denser  population  than  any  equal 
territory  on  earth,  except  perhaps  the  county  in  which  London  is 
located.  But  agriculture  alone  maintains  the  population  of  the 
Chentu  Plain,  while  the  population  of  London  is  sustained  by  trade 
and  manufacturing.  The  missionaries  of  our  church  were  the  first 
in  the  field,  and  thus  were  able  to  select  this  most  fertile  part  of  the 
province  for  their  location.  Other  missions  have  yielded  this  field  to 
Methodism.  She  thus  has  but  one  seventh  of  the  territory  of  the 
province  and  about  one  third  of  its  68,000,000  people.  The  increase 
in  membership  has  averaged  29  per  cent  during  the  last  two  years — 
two  girls’  schools  with  69  pupils;  two  day  schools  with  34 
pupils;  a hospital  that  ministers  to  5, 000  patients,  and  evangelistic 
work  opening  up  on  every  hand.  The  problem  here  is  that  of  holding 
the  territory  we  already  have.  Other  societies  have  sent  30  workers 
into  Szechuen  in  the  past  year.  The  Canadian  Methodists  have  just 
sent  22  new  recruits.  The  other  societies  now  have  two  or  three 
times  as  many  missionaries  in  proportion  to  their  populations  as  we 
have.  Methodism  must  either  increase  her  number  of  missionaries 
or  else  yield  to  others  territory  which  she  has  been  cultivating  for 
twenty-five  years. 

Missionaries 

For  Evangelistic  Work:  Five  missionaries — one  each  for  Chentu, 

Suiling,  Tsicheo,  and  two  for  Chungking — at  $1,100 $ 5,500 


WOMEN’S  EDITION 


n 

For  Educational  Work:  One  missionary — a school  principal  at 


Chentu  $ i,ioo 

For  Medical  Work:  Three  medical  missionaries — one  physician 
each  for  Chungking  and  Tsicheo,  and  a superintendent  for 

Chungking  Hospital — at  $i,ioo $ 3,300 

Buildings  and  Land 

For  Educational  Work: 

Land  and  building  for  girls’  boarding  school  at  Chentu $10,000 

Building  for  day  school  at  Suiling 400 

For  Medical  Work: 

Addition  to  “Gamble  Memorial  Hospital”  at  Chunking $ 1,500 

New  hospital  building  at  Tsicheo 5, 000 


For  more  definite  information  write  to  your  branch  secretary  of  the 

Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  or  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender, 

Room  611,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city. 

FOOCHOW  CONFERENCE 

Location:  Northern  part  of  Fukien  Province,  Southeastern  China.  Lati- 
tude of  Cuba. 

Size:  29,000  square  miles;  larger  than  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Con- 
necticut, and  Rhode  Island. 

Population:  18,000,000. 

Principal  Stations:  Foochow,  Kucheng,  Ngucheng,  Mingchiang,  Yenping. 

Methodist  Missionaries:  49,  or  one  for  every  369,000  Chinese. 

Members  and  Probationers:  12,775. 

Conditions:  The  beginning  of  Methodist  work  in  China  was  the  work 
started  in  this  province  in  1847,  and  almost  half  of  our  present 
membership  in  China  is  in  this  Conference.  The  first  Methodist 
girls’  boarding  school  was  opened  in  Foochow,  in  1859,  by  the  Misses 
Woolston,  sent  out  by  the  Ladies’  China  Missionary  Society.  They 
were  adopted  by  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society  in  1871. 
The  work  has  spread  from  Foochow  to  every  district  in  the  Con- 
ference. Twenty-five  missionaries,  directing  104  day  schools  with 
1,300  pupils;  100  Bible  women,  reaching  53,000  women  in  homes; 
four  Romanized  (Roman  alphabet  used  in  teaching)  schools,  training 
90  women;  six  training  schools  for  women  with  130  in  attendance; 
seven  boarding  schools  with  enrollment  of  500;  orphanage;  four 
hospitals  treating  30,000  patients  and  giving  out  43,000  prescriptions 
in  a single  year  indicate  the  growth  during  these  years.  What  is 
being  accomplished  could  be  multiplied  many  times  with  more 
missionaries  and  a larger  amount  of  money.  The  first  duty  here  is 
that  of  caring  adequately  for  a field  where  the  seed  has  been  success- 
fully sown  and  the  harvest  is  ready  for  reaping. 

Special  Needs:  Expansion  westward  to  join  the  Central  China  Mission, 
and  large  reinforcement  of  the  present  staff  of  workers.  The 


12 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


chief  need  of  the  Foochow  Conference  is  for  workers,  for  there  are 
by  far  too  few  missionaries  to  care  for  the  work  opened  and  to 
reap  the  harvest  now  ready. 

Missionaries 

For  Evangelistic  Work:  Seven  missionaries — one  each  for  Foo- 
chow, Kucheng,  Ngucheng,  Mingchiang,  and  Yenping,  and 
one  each  for  Kude  District  and  North  Yenping  District 
— at  $1,100  $ 7,700 

For  Educational  Work:  Four  rriissionaries — one  for  industrial 
school,  one  for  girls’  boarding  school,  one  for  kindergarten 
work,  Foochow;  and  one  for  girls’  school  at  Kucheng — at 
$1,100  $ 4,400 

For  Medical  Work:  One  medical  missionary — a physician  for 

Liangau  Hospital  at  Foochow $ 1,100 

Native  doctor  for  Haitang  District 150 

Native  doctor’s  assistant  for  “Woolston  Memorial  Hospital”..  50 

Buildings  and  Land 

For  Educational  Work: 

Building  for  women’s  college  at  Foochow $25,000 

“Mary  E.  Crook  Memorial  Orphanage,”  enlargement 3,500 

Land  next  to  women’s  school  at  Foochow,  now  occupied  by 

police  station  1,000 

Building  for  “Romanized  school”  at  Foochow 1, 500 

Training  school  for  Bible  women  at  Yenping 3, 000 

Bible  training  school,  Mingchiang  District 3,500 

Equipment  and  last  payment  on  girls’  boarding  school  at 

Haitang  1,200 

For  Medical  Work: 

Addition  to  Liangau  Hospital  at  Foochow,  operating  room 

and  surgical  ward $ 5,000 

Furnishings  for  new  hospital  at  Ngucheng 500 

For  more  definite  information  write  to  your  branch  secretary  of  the 

Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  or  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender, 

Room  611,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city. 

HINGHUA  CONFERENCE 

Location:  Southern  part  of  Fukien  Province,  Southeastern  China.  Lati- 
tude of  Cuba. 

Size:  18,000  square  miles;  almost  as  large  as  Maryland  and  New  Jersey. 

Population:  5,000,000. 

Principal  Stations:  Hinghua,  Singiu,  Dehhua,  Ingchung,  and  Duacheng. 

Methodist  Missionaries:  22,  or  one  for  every  227,000  Chinese. 

Members  and  Probationers:  4,515. 


WOMEN’S  EDITION 


13 


Conditions:  Methodist  work  here  began  in  1864.  The  first  missionary  of 
the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society  began  her  work  in  1896. 
This  is  the  smallest  Annual  Conference  in  China,  giving  the  best 
illustration  of  intensive  cultivation,  there  being  more  missionaries 
here  in  proportion  to  population  than  in  any  other  mission,  although 
still  only  one  for  each  227,000.  Accordingly,  the  results  are  among 
the  most  satisfactory.  The  same  ratio  of  gains  to  population  in  all 
the  Conferences  would  give  686,000  members  to  our  church  in  China. 
The  native  churches  are  practically  self-supporting,  averaging  fifty 
cents  per  member  for  local  support,  and  an  equal  amount  for  a 
Home  Missionary  Society  Fund  which  aids  needy  neighboring 
churches.  There  are  44  Bible  women  visiting  15,000  families,  thus 
reaching  55,000  people ; 21  day  schools  with  300  pupils ; three  board- 
ing schools  with  155  pupils ; three  Bible  training  schools  where  80 
women  are  taught,  and  one  hospital,  opened  in  1905,  which  is  already 
manifesting  its  usefulness.  The  Bubonic  plague  is  severe  here. 

Special  Needs:  Expansion  northwest  to  join  the  Central  China  Mission. 
The  Hinghua  Conference  is  in  the  same  province  as  the  Foochow 
Conference,  and  the  need  for  workers  is  similar — workers  to  guide 
institutions  already  opened,  and  to  reap  harvests  already  sown,  as 
well  as  to  expand  the  work. 

Missionaries 

For  Evangelistic  Work:  Four  missionaries — one  for  Dehhua,  one  for 

Singiu,  one  for  Hinghua,  and  a district  worker — at  $1,100...$  4,400 

For  Educational  Work:  Three  missionaries — one  for  Singiu  and 

two  for  Hinghua — at  $1,100 $ 3,300 

For  Medical  Work:  One  medical  missionary — a physician  for 

Hinghua  $ 1,100 

Buildings  and  Land 

For  Educational  Work: 

Enlarging  Missionaries’  Home  and  Boarding  School  Com- 


pound at  Hinghua $ 1,500 

For  Medical  Work: 

Widows’  Home  at  Hinghua $ 2,000 


Scholarships 

Many  of  the  Chinese  girls  come  from  families  who  are  too  poor  to 
support  them  in  our  schools.  These  girls  have  to  be  supported  by  scholar- 
ships. The  girls’  schools  train  the  young  women  who  become  our  Bible 
readers,  native  nurses,  and  doctors’  assistants,  and  from  our  graduates 
many  of  our  native  pastors  and  laymen  take  their  helpmates  in  the 
Master’s  service.  Annual  scholarships,  keeping  girls  in  school  for  a year, 
are  needed  at  the  following  rates : 


14 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


Foochow  Conference: 

3 scholarships  for  training  medical  assistants — at  $40 $ 120 

8 scholarships  for  training  Bible  women — at  $20 160 

15  day  schools — at  $30 450 

Running  expenses  for  deaf-mute  school  at  Kucheng 100 

Hinghua  Conference: 

5 scholarships  in  Isabel  Hart  Girls’  School  at  Singiu — at  $20.  .$  100 

S scholarships  for  training  Bible  women  at  Hinghua — at  $25. . 125 

North  China  Conference: 

20  scholarships — at  $30 $ 600 

Central  China  Mission: 

30  boarding  school  scholarships  for  Nanchang — at  $30 $ 900 

2 native  day  school  teachers  and  supplies — one  each  for 

Nanchang  and  Kiukiang — at  $75 150 

5 day  schools  for  Kiukiang  and  Nanchang — at  $30 150 

A system  of  day  schools  in  each  of  the  Chinkiang,  Nanking, 

Kiukiang,  South  Kiangsi,  and  Wuhu  Districts — at  $500. . 2,500 
West  China  Mission: 

15  boarding  school  scholarships  for  Chentu — at  $25 $ 375 


For  more  definite  information  write  to  your  branch  secretary  of  the 
Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  or  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender, 
Room  611,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city. 

OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA 

We  have  already  indicated  the  need  of  expansion  of  the  Foo- 
chow and  Hinghua  Conferences  westward,  to  join  the  Central 
China,  and  of  the  North  China  Conference  southward  by  the 
creation  of  the  Shantung  District  into  the  Shantung  Mission,  or 
Conference.  This  will  not  mean  entering  any  new  provinces,  but 
simply  extending  the  work  in  the  provinces  in  which  we  already 
have  missionaries.  If,  however,  Methodism  is  to  do  her  full 
share  in  evangelizing  China,  work  should  be  opened  in  other 
provinces.  Of  these,  the  most  inviting  fields  seem  to  be  in 
Manchuria  and  Shansi. 

Manchuria  has  become  famous  as  the  battleground  of  the 
Japanese  and  the  Russians.  Since  the  war  it  has  been  divided 
into  the  three  provinces  of  Fengtien,  Heilungkiang,  and  Kirin, 
by  the  Chinese  government,  and  these  have  been  incorporated  as 
integral  parts  of  the  Chinese  empire.  The  population  of  Man- 
churia has  risen  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  from  7,500,000  to  the 
present  population  of  22,000,000.  The  soil  is  a black,  rich  loam. 


WOMEN’S  EDITION 


15 


and  very  fertile;  the  climate  is  that  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and 
Southern  Canada.  Through  the  opening  up  of  natural  resources 
by  the  railway  the  country  is  more  prosperous  today  than  ever 
before.  There  are  also  splendid  mines  of  coal  and  iron.  Great 
development  is  awaiting  Manchuria,  and  the  population  probably 
will  reach  100,000,000  before  the  close  of  the  century.  There  are 
only  two  mission  boards  at  work  in  Manchuria,  neither  of  them 
American.  We  already  have  Christians  and  preaching  stations 
north  of  the  Great  Wall,  and  need  only  to  follow  the  railroad  to 
extend  our  work  in  that  territory.  In  this  case  alone,  in  all 
China,  because  of  lack  of  funds,  we  have  allowed  the  railroad  to 
precede  us. 

Shansi  is  the  province  located  immediately  west  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Chihli,  and  has  an  area  of  81,000  square  miles  and  a 
population  of  12,200,000.  According  to  Baron  Richtofen’s  three- 
volume  report  to  the  German  government,  it  has  the  finest  coal 
and  iron  deposits  in  the  world.  This  report  startled  European 
nations,  and  was  one  of  the  causes  leading  to  the  attempt  on  the 
part  of  foreign  powers  to  seize  territory  and  thus  divide  China. 
This  was  prevented  largely  by  Secretary  Hay  and  the  United 
States.  Richtofen  says  that  there  is  enough  coal  in  Shansi  to 
supply  the  world  for  several  thousand  years.  This  report  con- 
cerning the  richness  of  mineral  resources  was  confirmed  by  the 
second  German  Commission  in  1897-8.  Railroads  are  being  built 
into  these  fields,  and  the  day  of  mining  is  at  hand.  The  coal- 
bearing strata  have  been  heaved  up  so  that  coal  can  be  mined  by 
level  tunneling,  instead  of  by  sinking  shafts.  The  coal  lies  three 
thousand  feet  above  the  Pacific,  so  that  with  suitable  railroads 
gravity  will  bring  the  coal  to  the  ocean  ports.  There  is  an  abun- 
dance of  Chinese  labor  for  mining.  In  a few  years  Shansi  will 
be  the  Pittsburg,  West  Virginia,  and  Birmingham  region  of  Asia. 
Very  little  missionary  work  is  being  done  in  this  rich  province. 

These  new  fields  offer  splendid  opportunities  for  expansion. 

TO  PROSPECTIVE  INVESTORS 

I.  Special  leaflets  on  medical,  educational,  and  evangelistic 
work  can  be  obtained  free  of  charge  by  writing  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
R.  Bender,  Secretary  of  the  General  Office,  Woman’s  Foreign 


16 


OPPORTUNE  INVESTMENTS  IN  CHINA 


Missionary  Society,  Room  6ii,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 
city.  These  are  illustrated,  and  show  the  special  work  done  in 
each  of  these  departments. 

2.  Persons  wishing  information  beyond  that  contained  in  the 
leaflets  concerning  any  need  mentioned  above,  should  write  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Bender,  and  receive  a personal  letter  giving 
full  details. 

3.  Persons  hesitating  between  two  or  three  investments,  should 
write  to  Miss  Bender,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city,  for 
information.  When  necessary,  these  letters  will  be  forwarded  to 
the  branch  secretaries  for  fuller  counsel  and  advice. 

4.  Undesignated  gifts  will  be  placed  where  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Finance  Committee  they  are  most  needed,  and  a report  will 
be  made  to  the  donor. 

5.  If  it  is  preferred  to  aid  work  in  any  one  Conference,  or 
under  a particular  missionary,  permission  should  be  given  in  case 
the  need  in  question  has  already  been  met,  to  apply  your  contribu- 
tion to  the  next  greatest  need  and  report  to  you.  Send  all  gifts 
to  the  branch  treasurers,  or  to  Mrs.  J.  M.  Cornell,  treasurer, 
601  West  26th  Street,  New  York  city,  marking  them  ‘‘Special 
Gifts  for  China.” 


